Plend joins Aro’s lending marketplace
Open banking-backed consumer lender Plend has joined Aro’s digital lending marketplace, to provide accessible finance to more underserved borrowers.
Aro – which rebranded this month from Freedom Finance – says that its data-driven matching platform provides better credit solutions for consumers and presents lenders with stronger applicants, compared to traditional credit assessments that are based on incomplete and biased data sets.
Plend uses a proprietary open banking-powered credit scoring system to enable wider access to truly affordable loans. It utilises data such as rent payments to create a clearer picture of potential borrowers, providing finance to people underserved by traditional lenders.
Read more: Exclusive: Plend secures Varengold funding line
“Consumers in the UK are facing an increasingly uphill battle in accessing affordable and longer-term credit solutions,” said Robert Pasco, chief executive of Plend.
“Central to our credit scoring process is a commitment to positive customer outcomes, and our partnership with Aro enables us to offer a lifeline to a broader audience in need of genuinely affordable loans. We are super excited to join forces with Aro, a like-minded partner, whose technology-led approach unlocks greater value for customers across the UK at a time of growing need.”
The open-data lender will be directly integrated into the Aro platform, where customers are connected with over 70 UK lenders and service providers to help them achieve their financial goals.
Read more: Plend teams up with non-profits to deliver loans to vulnerable borrowers
“We are excited to be announcing our partnership with Plend today,” said Emma Steeley, chief executive of Aro.
“With more consumers than ever looking for credit, we are thrilled to be working with an ethical lender who shares Aro’s values and is also an advocate of the transformative power open banking promises with secure access to real-time financial information.”
Read more: Koyo to send declined borrowers to Freedom Finance
